The Yeerk Chronicles
by Quillian
Summary: The first Chronicles fic of the Post Animorphs series.  A surprising history and many truths are revealed about the Yeerks before, during and after the Yeerk War...
1. PROLOGUE

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own _Animorphs_, etc. K.A. Applegate holds that honor.

A/N: I'M BA-ACK! Sorry for the months-long wait, but Visser Real Life has a tendency to interfere like that. _(I also wanted to write some more of this before posting this first part of this fic, but I felt that my readers had been waiting for long enough.)_

Well, here it is, my first-ever "Chronicles" fic in my Post-Animorphs series! _(However, just don't expect it to be as long as the canon "Chronicles" books.)_

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**_The Yeerk Chronicles_**

_By Quillian_

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_Dedicated to **Anifan1** and _**_Myitt_**_ for their stories on peaceful __Yeerks__, which were something of an inspiration for this, as well as to the latter for allowing me to use her OC __Myitt__ 195 in this._

* * *

_"History never looks like history when you are living through it." –John W. Gardner _

* * *

**PROLOGUE**

It can always be difficult to speak before a crowd, even regardless of whatever kinds of species can be in the crowd you're speaking to.

It can be even more difficult when the majority of the species you are speaking to hates the majority of your own species.

At this point, I was doing neither, and yet I felt so nervous that I was sure that this was one of the most nerve-wracking moments in my life.

I was in a human government building on Earth, moving about in my robot body.

Armed with my personal notes and records compiled into something which humans would consider to be something like a manuscript, I walked in my "rovessel" down hallways, past human workers, most of whom eyed be with varying degrees of suspicion, and yet a few of them with varying degrees of curiosity.

Ironically, I took heed with the human advice of "rolling with the punches."

I made my way to the secretary's desk, where a sharply-dressed middle-aged human female was bent over her work.

She noticed me come and looked up to look me square in the face (well, so to speak).

"How may I help you?" she asked formally.

"My name is Arklan Two-Five-Six, and I hold the rank of Paxxor One in the Yeerk Republic," I said. "I have an appointment with the manager of the recording studio in this building."

I noticed a few gasps and stares at the mention of the word "Yeerk." I paid them no heed.

Checking her book, the secretary confirmed my statement.

"Yes, of course, Paxxor Arklan. Room 96, near the far end of the hall to your right. Have a nice day."

"Thank you, you too."

I walked down the hall with my two bodyguards, our rovessel gaits looking like those of an Earth creature known as a spider. I even heard someone say how we moved like "those Spider Walkers from _Episode II: Attack of the Clones_"… whatever that was.

I ignored the hostile looks and glares the same way a ship's shield deflects incoming enemy fire. Of course, to be fair, I could hardly expect them to be so understanding of my species when an entire empire of my species was marauding throughout this arm of the galaxy, with the human race being the latest of their targets.

Besides, if that weren't the case, I wouldn't have a job to do right now. (Granted, I just might have some other job to do instead, but that wasn't really the point here.)

I could hardly blame the portion of the human race which hated my entire race. I was sure that deep down, among their reasons for the distrust were to avoid a repeat of the invasion launched by the Yeerk Empire. As it's been basically said many times by different people, human or otherwise, that those who don't learn from the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them.

But then again… one of the things which I've come to learn is that people who are stuck in said history get nowhere.

I entered the room, which was spare and simple. A table, a few chairs, some human recording equipment…

With a subtle gesture to my bodyguards, they took their places: One stayed with me in the room, and the other stayed outside of it.

Taking a moment to collect myself, I organized my electronic notes stored on my information tablets. I am here at this place to tell the other side of the Yeerk race during the brutal times of the Yeerk Empire, but at the same time, I know I will have to censor myself here, because some things are just better left unsaid and kept private.

I checked my internal chronometer, under the function telling me the local time here, and saw that I had arrived quite early. Good. I needed some time to myself, anyway.

Some aspects may just be as hard for me to talk about as they may be hard for others to listen to, but for different reasons. While plenty of others may not want to hear what I have to say because it contradicts their long-held beliefs about Yeerks, I may not want to say things because they deal with topics, secrets and even emotions which I've deliberately left buried for so long.

As I look over my notes, I can almost _feel_ myself be transported back to when it all began…

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED…_

A/N: How is this for starters?

Regarding my OC's name: I remember back in _The Hork-Bajir Chronicles_, there was a Gedd-Controller referred to as "Arklan," who injured himself by trying to use a shredder in such a dense atmosphere. (If you have a copy of it, look on page 91.) I think that Arklan will be a pool-mate of my OC Arklan…

Note regarding the room number: Just a bit of rather pointless trivia here… the Animorphs series started in 1996, so I felt this was something of a nod to that. _(Shrugs.)_

Note about the thing about being stuck in history and getting nowhere: Sometime back, I was chatting with my friend and beta-reader, **Alara**** Moonrunner**, when she told me "Those who are stuck in said history get nowhere", as a sort of rebuttal to my quoting the thing about those who don't learn from history's lessons. So, I would like to thank her here for her uncanny wisdom and insight, as well as letting me use it in this fic.

The next part is the official first chapter, where we see pre-war life on the Yeerk home world even before the infamous Andalite prince known as Seerow ever arrived at it… _–Quillian_


	2. CHAPTER 1

**DISCLAIMER:** See the Prologue.

* * *

**CHAPTER 1**

**Yeerk date: Generation 685, mid-cycle  
Earth date: 1966 C.E.**

My name is Arklan 256. I am a Yeerk.

We Yeerks are small creatures who have the ability to enter the heads of some other species and take control of their bodies. No one really knows how we got the ability to do such a thing – although there have been myths passed down from generation to generation suggesting that we were granted such an ability, and that there were once creatures other than what we call Gedds which we could inhabit and control.

I have my theories, though…

One could say that we Yeerks have a thing for knowledge. Through hosts, we can see things we normally cannot in our natural bodies. Through our fellow Yeerks, we learn things we would not know otherwise. Through everything else, we survive together.

I have these ideas just running around my mind, beginning to be explained or to manifest some physical form… things which I just can't describe…

I am strange like that. I often think about things which other Yeerks don't really think about.

Even my brother and poolmate, Arklan 228, whom I get along with the most, has trouble keeping up with me sometimes.

He – I refer to him here as being male because he typically uses a male Gedd as a host – and I were trekking along through the area surrounding our pool. (Often, we Yeerks tend to "assume" the genders of our hosts.)

For some reason, Gedds evolved with one leg shorter than the other, so one arm was needed to keep balance as they walked. They were imperfect, but at the same time, I was also thankful that we had any hosts at all.

In our calendar – our system of time measurement – it had been 685 generations since the Founding Generation. Back then, there were all kinds of unique and fascinating creatures which we Yeerks could infest. But something happened – something to all those magnificent creatures. It must have been an illness, and a severe one at that, but it is said that in the length of time a Yeerk can live in a host and without Kandrona rays, all these different species died out, leaving only Gedds as the only species we could infest.

The Yeerks who lived back then realized that whatever killed all these creatures could threaten them too, and had already known about the existence of other Yeerks in other pools. They had unified in the hopes of finding a way to stop whatever this disease was. Well, whatever it was, it had passed, sparing the Gedds and the Yeerks. Well, the Yeerks who hadn't died within their dying hosts, anyway.

"We're almost there, brother," I said, using "Gedd speech," as opposed to the Yeerk language, which was impossible to use with Gedd mouths.

"Good," he grunted. "My host is getting tired, anyway."

"You wouldn't believe what I found the other day."

"I probably would, since you haven't stopped talking about it since."

"Sorry," I said with some sincerity. He had been right. Ever since I found it…

"Here we are," I announced.

Before I had left this site the last time, I had taken a large leaf that had fallen from a nearby tree (a leaf so big that it could cover at least four Gedds) and had pinned it down with rocks to protect it from the nightly acid rain.

After my brother and I removed the protective covering, I took a moment to gaze upon my find.

I had managed to unearth some bones that looked like Gedd bones. But the strangest thing was, they were made out of _stone_, not out of – well, _bone_.

I had removed half of the find so far, and now I was using my webbed Gedd hands to scoop way the soft dirt. My brother just looked on, watching me, except for when I needed him to help me.

I had unearthed the remains when I let out a gasp. It was a complete Gedd skeleton!

However, as I saw the legs, I noticed something odd.

Looking around, I found a stick that had fallen from another tree. Using that stick as a unit of measurement, I compared the lengths of the Gedd's legs.

To my utter surprise, _both legs were exactly the same length_.

"Am I seeing this correctly, or is it just my host?" My brother wondered.

"No, I'm definitely seeing it, too," I said in response.

It was clearly an old Gedd skeleton. Aside from the fact that it was made of stone rather than bone material, both legs on the skeleton were the same length.

"It's an old Gedd skeleton, and yet it looks different…" I mused. I then turned to my brother. "Do you think… it's possible that Gedds could have _changed_ over time?"

My brother made a kind of grunt which indicated that he really didn't care much for ideas or theories at the moment. In fact, he really wasn't interested much in science, anyway.

Ah, science… a synonym we Yeerks have made, derived from the Yeerk word for "knowledge". It's something which not all Yeerks are interested in, I'm afraid. But for those of us who are interested in it… a lot of work is hypothetical, since even with clumsy Gedd hosts, it's difficult for us to lay out our ideas and thoughts.

It is something of a shame, since we have all these ideas, but no real efficient ways of expressing them.

As my brother went off underneath a Wide-Top Tree, I just continued to stand there, contemplating the old yet different Gedd skeleton remains lying in front of me. One common thought from that time in my life came back to me once again at that moment: _I just hope of these days, something changes our world, and for the better._

I, like all Yeerks, was content with my life back then… but that didn't mean I couldn't have more, did it?

It was this kind of thinking which I came to reconsider and even regret in the years to come afterwards. More specifically, after _they_ came.

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED…_

A/N: There we go… the first chapter…

Note about the dates: Yes, I got those from the _Hork-Bajir Chronicles_. Also, the term "C.E."… there are some people who don't like to use the religious dates B.C. ("Before Christ") and A.D. (_Anno Domini_ – "Year of the Lord"), and instead use the secular terms B.C.E. ("Before Common Era") and C.E. ("Common Era") respectively. Just so you know. Also, such calendars like ours often use a certain year of significance as a base year from which things are recorded before or after. In the case of the Yeerks, I took some liberties and made it so something happened during the base year/generation used in the Yeerk calendar – in this case, I made it so the base generation was the generation of Yeerks which truly united between all their different pools on the planet.

Note about the thing with science and knowledge: Actually, the English word "science" comes from the Latin word _scientia_, meaning "knowledge". That's kind of how I came up with this little idea. _(Shrugs.)_

Note about the "Wide-Top Tree": When Elfangor was in that artificial and fragmented universe he helped to create in TAC, he mentioned a kind of "tree" which grew some feet before spreading out horizontally several feet. So, I took some liberties with that and made it a "Wide-Top Tree".

The next part is the chapter where Seerow shows up… –_Quillian_


	3. CHAPTER 2

**DISCLAIMER:** See the Prologue.

* * *

**CHAPTER 2**

It was just another day when _they_ came.

I was with my poolmate when I looked up in the sky and saw something that _definitely_ didn't belong there.

An oblong… _thing_ descended from the sky.

It was the length of at least eight Wide-Top Trees placed end to end, and maybe a width of five Wide-Top Trees.

I cautiously approached it, moving relatively slowly (after all, I was in a clumsy Gedd body), but I had barely gone a few steps when my brother held me back.

"Do you really think it would be wise to do that?" he asked me seriously.

I hesitated. He was right, after all.

"You're right. We'll just wait here, see what happens."

The thing landed several meters away, while we hid behind a Wide-Top Tree, watching curiously.

Once the thing settled on the ground and most of the noise and light from its rear died down, an opening appeared on the side of it which was facing us.

It was bright from this thing's interior, but soon enough, as the figure emerged, I could make it out.

It stood on four legs. One, two, three, four. And although it was cropped by the portal, I could see the appendage from behind which some creatures use to balance themselves – a tail. But from the front of its body sprung a torso. Like with a Gedd, two arms came down from the top of the torso, connected by shoulders. I couldn't make out how many fingers each hand had, but it definitely looked to be more than what a Gedd had.

I found its head to be particularly peculiar. Its head was framed by two ears that looked almost like windswept plants. It had two eyes on either side of its face, on the upper third of its face. It then also had two _additional_ eyes which were connected to the top of its head by sitting on… stalks? As I looked closer, I could see what passed for a nose; some space with three vertical slits which were nostrils. And in addition to all that, there was no mouth on the lower portion of its face.

Now I was _really_ curious. It had no mouth, a part of the body which organisms typically use to consume nutrients, breathe and/or communicate. So how did it…?

The creature then ducked back inside, with a peculiar expression on its face which I somehow guessed might have been caused by discomfort. Judging by how it had trouble breathing after it was exposed to the air…

A moment or so later, it emerged again, this time donning some transparent thing on its nose. By some sort of band of the same material, it stayed attached to its head.

It looked down at the ground and was careful where it stepped. It had some kind of appendage in the place of feet – I think they're called hooves, since there is a creature which has something similar to that – and stepped out onto the ground, looking around with its four eyes.

As it exited the vessel fully, the end of its long, vine-like tail came into view. On the end of it was this considerably big blade. I was pretty sure it could slice right through the head of a Gedd completely in any conceivable way.

"What should we do?" Arklan whispered to me.

"Let's just see what happens," I whispered back to him.

The alien being walked around on the muddy ground, observing everything. Then, as though somehow silently summoned, another being appeared. It looked as though it was another member of this same species. This being appeared to be slimmer and weaker than its counterpart, including a smaller blade on its tail. Whereas the former had blue hairs with some tan, this thing had purple hairs with some gold.

The two of them kept looking at each other as though conversing, and yet I heard no sound whatsoever. Nor did they communicate using physical gestures (we Yeerks had something similar when using Gedd hosts who were so old that their vocal cords were so weak that they might as well be nonexistent).

After a moment or so, I noticed that the second alien was holding... _something_ in its hands. It made small lights and strange sounds on small, regular intervals.

Not long after that, the first alien turned one of its upper eyes in our general direction. I felt a sense of dread in my Gedd body.

"I have a bad feeling about this," I muttered so low even I could barely hear it.

The alien walked towards us on its four legs, slowly and what was a non-threatening way. Arklan made to get away, but somehow I just knew that trying to escape would have been no good. I saw how the alien moved with such grace, and somehow, I could just _imagine_ it moving faster than I could possibly hope to in any Gedd body.

I just stood there, balancing my host Gedd body against the Wide-Top Tree so I could use both my arms, just in case.

(Greetings,) a voice echoed within my mind. I just stood there in shock. The alien was speaking to me – and I could hear his voice within my mind!

I wasn't familiar with the words of the language, yet somehow I understood them as if I knew the language my entire life.

(Please, do not be afraid,) the alien said. (I will not harm you or anyone else.)

I nearly fell over in shock from this little experience.

(I greet you,) the alien continued. (I am here to make contact with the intelligent species of this world.)

The other alien was looking all around, observing everything she could see that was next to her. She even seemed so engrossed in her observations that I doubt she would have been surprised if a Long-Vine had suddenly come out of the ground and had struck her.

My brother muttered to me, "So, what do you suppose we do now?"

I looked him seriously and said, "I do not see why I cannot talk with this alien."

Turning back to the alien, I rumbled, "I am Arklan 256. The one standing next to me is Arklan 228."

(My name is Seerow-Iskillion-Nallot,) he replied. (I am an Andalite.)

"And we are Yeerks."

(We come from another place in space. Our home world is far from here, but we have found a way to travel using our technology.)

That was a word I was not familiar with. "_Technology?"_ I repeated, trying to follow how he said it in his own language, which proved to be almost impossible with my Gedd mouth.

(Technology is… how shall I explain this?) After a moment of silence, he then told me, (Technology is essentially practical use and applications based upon scientific knowledge and understanding.)

After another moment of silence, I then replied, "I think I understand what you are saying."

The next moment, the other alien approached us, and was introduced by Seerow. (This is my wife… my mate. Her name is Limdin-Zishen-Forand.)

(Greetings,) she said to us.

Well, that answered my then-forming question about how to differentiate between male and female Andalites. (Even though we Yeerks are gender-neutral, we understood about the difference in gender from the other animal species on our planet.)

(I was just telling them about how we are from another planet,) Seerow told his mate. (Turning back to us, Seerow said, Have you ever seen small lights in your sky at night?)

"Yes," I told him, "but only glimpses, because it often rains at night, and we must take shelter then. There are only two of them, which we call Rahin and Madra. On some nights, they can not be seen at all."

(Oh… you must be referring to this world's moons.)

"Moons?"

I could see Seerow getting a little confused with how to explain things. Eventually, he then asked something else. (You know about your sun, yes?)

"Yes, Kandrona, which feeds us and nurtures us."

(Kandrona?)

"Our sun," I said, gesturing to where it was half-hidden by a passing yet harmless acid cloud. "Its warmth and light helps us live."

(I understand now,) Limdin said. (You consume its rays to survive… its light, its warmth.)

I paused for a moment, and confirmed her statement. "Yes."

(Anyway,) Seerow politely continued, (Your sun is just one of many stars in the galaxy. This planet – that is to say, your world – is a sphere which orbits that star.)

Seerow explained how the moons Rahin and Madra _orbited_ our world – our _planet­­_ – and our planet orbited our sun. Our sun was one of these things called _stars_ – which we could not see in our night sky because of the thick clouds which poured the nightly acid rain – which made up the galaxy.

This was all just so new to me, to us, to the Yeerk race…

First there was the universe… then were those far-apart galaxies, each with _hundreds of billions_ of stars, some of which had their planets, some of which had moons, some of which had _life_…

I nearly fell over right then and there, and the other three – Arklan, Seerow and Limdin – definitely noticed that.

As I was regaining control of myself, I heard Seerow ask his mate, (Is it working, Limdin?)

(Yes,) she replied to him, (The universal translator is becoming more and more effective as we talk with them.)

I could only guess whatever a "universal translator" was.

"I need to feed," my brother told me.

"Yes, of course." Turning back to the Andalites, I said, "Please excuse us for a moment. My brother is getting hungry."

(I'm sorry, but I'm just curious,) Limdin then said. (How would you feed on _solar rays_ using a mouth?)

"Simple," my brother said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I leave the Gedd."

Now both of them looked confused. (What is a Gedd?) they both asked simultaneously.

My brother gestured to himself – or rather, his host body. "This is a Gedd."

(But you said that you were Yeerks,) Seerow said.

"Yes, we are."

Deciding that this could become really confusing, I told my brother, "Why don't you return to the pool and feed while I explain it to them?"

My brother agreed and walked back to the pool a few meters away. Taking his hand off the ground and lying down on his side, I could recognize the signs of him releasing control of his host body.

I then moved forward and helped lift up his body so that the Gedd would not drown or move away while he was feeding on Kandrona rays.

Looking closely, both of them could see my brother crawl out of the Gedd's ear and drop into the pool.

"We are Yeerks," I explained to them. "We can live inside and control hosts for three days, at the most. We feed on the light and warmth of Kandrona within the Yeerk pool. That is how we live."

At first, they both appeared to be… repulsed, maybe? But after a few moments, both of them began to look positively excited.

From that point on, I came to know this Seerow.

And from that point on, things would never be the same.

* * *

_TBC…_

A/N: I just hope I pulled this off well. _(Also, please don't expect as frequent updates in the near future. I was just uploading what I had already written, and I felt that after months of my readers waiting for this fic, they deserved something more than merely waiting even longer.)_

Note about the Long-Vine: Elfangor also mentioned one of these in TAC, as something that came out of the ground as if searching for something and then retreated back into it.

Note about the "bad feeling" line: Seem familiar at all? At least once in each of the _Star Wars_ movies, someone says something like "I've got a bad feeling about this." This line also appears at least once in just about all the Expanded Universe novels, as well as that _Clone Wars_ miniseries.

Note about the full names of Seerow and his family: From THBC, we know Aldrea's full name, but only the first names of Seerow and Barafin, and we never found out her mother's name. So, I'm clearly making it up here. Also, if my theory about Andalite names is true, then Aldrea should have gotten her middle name ("Iskillion") from Seerow, since she was the oldest child in the family. As for Seerow's last name in this, "Nollat"… it's "Tollan" spelled backwards. Anyone familiar with _Stargate: SG-1_ should be able to recall the Tollan, a technologically superior human race which made the mistake of sharing their technology with an inferior race, who horribly abused it (as explained in the Season 1 episode "Enigma"). Seerow's big mistake is practically identical to that of the Tollan race in the _SG-1_ series, so I decided to make a little homage to that. As for Seerow's wife, I just thought that "Limdin-Zishen-Forand" sounded nice, so that was that. I made Barafin's full name to be "Barafin-Zishen-Geffex" because I also liked how that sounded.

Note about the names of the Yeerk home world's moons: Madra is said in _Visser_ to be the smallest moon. I took liberties and made it so that the Yeerk home world had two moons, just like the planet Mars does. I also noticed that "Madra" sounds very much alike to that dark land of Mordor from _The Lord of the Rings_ (KAA had dotted the _Animorphs_ series with LotR references), so I decided to name the other moon, "Rahin," after another familiar land from Tolkien's Middle Earth – Rohan. _(Coincidentally, I just found out that there's another area next to Mordor which is called "Rhûn.")_

IMPORTANT note about the current state of Yeerk existence: Someone has voiced the concern that I'm making it so the Yeerks were an extremely peaceful people before gaining all that technology and becoming the victims of their own Yeerk Empire leadership; in other words, that I'm trying to show it through rose-tinted lenses or whatever. I can assure you all that that's not the case, and if anything, I am purposely _avoiding_ falling into that pit. In my observations, the Yeerks are the aliens that are most like the humans: Some good, some evil, and yet all can be changed by possession of power. It's just that before the Andalites came along, they had very little knowledge, technology, or _power_ to become evil, or a threat of any kind, for that matter. _(Is what I'm saying here making any sense?)_

The next part is the chapter where Arklan learns from Seerow, and they discuss things… –_Quillian_


	4. CHAPTER 3

**DISCLAIMER:** See the Prologue.

* * *

**CHAPTER 3**

It all seemed so grand at the time: The Andalite War-Prince Seerow-Iskillion-Nallot and the Yeerk Arklan 256 of the Sulp Niar pool working together in a way that could benefit both species.

We were both fools.

Seerow taught me so much which I wanted to use to benefit the Yeerk race. Somehow, I always felt there was more to how this universe worked than what I could have discovered about it on my own. I can humbly say that I have a brilliant mind, both now and back then, and now I felt as though I had found all these things I was looking for.

However, one thing which both Seerow and I never learned and never were taught was how other people worked, not just the universe itself.

Even now, I look back on every conceivable angle as to how I could have prevented those figurative seeds of dissent from taking root against the Andalites and growing into a problem.

For the month after Seerow arrived, I was restless. I studied under him, and he was all too happy to teach me, pleased that he now had a student with such a desire to learn.

I studied math and science, and oh, there were so many branches of science to explore… Astronomy, biology, geology, physics…

Of course, I had to learn basic tool-making before learning about how more complex machines work. My mind was filled with these explanations of all these things which existed in our universe, from the massive objects far away to those too-small-to-be-seen basic building blocks which make up everything and everyone.

He even introduced me to art: The making of things as decoration or self-expression. Sometimes they were just meant to be pleasing to the senses, other times they had things like stories to tell or lessons to teach.

We Yeerks were very smart and had much potential to learn, Seerow and his mate – sorry, his wife – told us more than once. The thing was, we just didn't have that much knowledge at that point. As Seerow and Limdin told us, it was like having a nice big container (or brain) to fill with water (knowledge), but just not having enough water at the moment.

Of course, even as we were talking together and I was learning from him, there were other concerns to take into account… such as how my fellow Yeerks were taking all of this.

Naturally, they were all shocked and surprised at first, like me. As time went on, I began to witness the full spectrum of their reactions. Some of them were scared of the Andalites; some of them were hopeful in that it could mean better things for the Yeerk race; a few of them were actually hateful of the Andalites because they saw what happened as disrupting normal life on our home world; and a few remainder of Yeerks actually did not care about the Andalites at all.

However, there were a few problems, one of which was getting along with Seerow's offspring, not to mention a few of the other Andalites as well.

Actually, I was more than happy to get along with all the Andalites who were on our home world. But I guess friendship and the sort has to be mutual in order for it to work.

For instance, take the time I tried to introduce myself to his daughter, Aldrea… "tried" being the operative word.

At the time, she was very young by Andalite standards, and seemed to be very shy… particularly whenever I was around. Coincidence? Unfortunately, I don't think so.

"Hello, Aldrea," I said with complete sincerity. We were in the Andalite-Yeerk Peace and Cooperate Centre, and Aldrea and myself were in a room adjacent to where her parents were working on something or another. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. You must be really proud of your mother and your father."

She did her best to be polite by looking at me directly in the eye with her main eyes, but her stalk eyes seemed glued to the room's portal. She clutched her Pakka doll tightly as if it were a small shield generator, protecting her from who-knows-what-kind-of-dangers.

After a few uneasy moments with her quivering ever-so-slightly in fear, I tried a different tactic. "Is there something you would like to do? Perhaps we could play chess," I suggested hopefully. "Fascinating, really, the use of pieces and a surface for games of strategy…" I added, unable to keep the small excitement out of my voice.

(No,) she said almost pleadingly, as if I might force her to if she didn't want to play this Andalite game known as chess.

"It's alright, Aldrea, we don't have to play chess," I said calmly, wishing things weren't turning out this way.

Aldrea was now backing up a few paces, and I noticed that she was about to trip over a storage container on the floor. So, naturally, I tried to stop her from hurting herself.

"Aldrea, be careful, behind you," I blurted out, reaching out to take her arm. Big mistake.

(DON'T TOUCH ME!) she screamed in thought-speech, and as if that small headache wasn't enough, she knocked me over as she fled the room, running at I speed which I wouldn't have thought possible from her.

As I got myself back up, Seerow barged in with a young Andalite cadet, the latter bearing a small weapon – a _shredder_, I realized, with some fear.

(Don't make any sudden moves, Yeerk!) the young cadet said bravely, although I somehow got the impression that he wasn't so sure about what he was doing himself.

(Stand down, _Aristh_ Alloran,) Seerow said. Focusing his attention back to me, Seerow said, (What happened, Arklan?)

I calmly explained to him how I was just trying to prevent Aldrea from tripping over a storage container. Seerow could still see the Andalite hoof prints in the semi-soft floor of the complex (the Andalites wanted it to feel like the ground of their own home world), and could tell that I was telling the truth.

(Thank you for explaining, Arklan,) Seerow told me at last. (At ease, _Aristh_ Alloran. That is all.)

Alloran looked at me suspiciously for a moment before finally leaving the room.

Seerow let out a sigh through his nose, as opposed to a thought-speech sound of disappointment. (I feel as though I owe you an apology, Arklan,) he said to me at last. (Aldrea has it hard enough with her being so far from home… I was hoping that she might enjoy the learning experience, but it seems as though I guessed wrong there.)

"You have nothing to apologize for, Seerow, and neither does Aldrea," I told him. There was just something very bothersome about seeing him apologize for something which he was not responsible for, or at least in my honest opinion.

(Perhaps we should give it a while before you and Aldrea meet again?)

"Yes, I think that would be wise," I said with a touch of sadness in my voice.

Many years later, when I first heard that human saying about how "actions speak louder than words," I would think back on this event, which was ultimately to be the first, last and only time I ever talked to Aldrea, and then wonder if it was the first of many things to come, where people would hate or fear me simply because I was a _Yeerk._

Nor did things work out well between me and Alloran, either. Then again, I wondered if it would have even been possible given him and his attitude and temperament, where he would play pranks and pick fights with his fellow cadets. In my opinion, the final clinching proof that I probably could have never resolved things with Alloran-Semitur-Corrass was what he said to me long after the incident. I don't recall his exact words, but I do remember a rush of shock, anger and sadness and what he said, which was something about "us Yeerks" being a scourge of some kind, and how alien creatures with "abilities" like ours, to take control of other creatures with sufficient brain capacity, shouldn't even exist.

I do, however, remember pointing out that "we Yeerks" weren't armed with powerful weapons and powerful vessels, enabling us to travel between the stars and do who-knew-what. I would like to think that I made a fair point there.

Ultimately, however, Alloran finished it all off with what I do remember word-for-word: Either way, I would rather be dead before I have a Yeerk in my head!

How terribly ironic indeed.

However, the final problem which ultimately started the chain of events leading to the Yeerks marauding about the galaxy and the subsequent Yeerk War was not something an Andalite did out of fear or hatred, but something which _I_ did out of innocently wanting to make things better.

It was on my way back from talking with Seerow one particular evening that I would unwittingly play a small and seemingly-harmless role in what was to come in the Yeerk War.

Thirteen Gedd-Controllers surrounded me. They didn't appear to be threatening, or at least as far as Gedd-Controllers go.

"Arklan Two-Five-Six?" the largest Gedd-Controller asked.

"Yes," I said slowly. "What's this about?"

"We thirteen Yeerks here before you want to talk to you about something, Arklan."

"I'm listening."

"For quite some time now, you have been learning from Seerow and the other Andalites," their leader said to me. "However, we feel that there should be some sort of council or group among us Yeerks to help mediate with the Andalites."

I could see where he was going with this. We Yeerks really didn't have any type of government before the arrival of the Andalites – after all, what was there to govern, apart from who got which Gedds as hosts and when?

However, I had to admit that even I was no "politician," but something more of an "ambassador."

"What are you saying?" I said at last, even though I had a feeling that I knew the answer already.

"We wish to be the council which will help lead the Yeerk race in the years to come," their leader said.

How could I say no? The whole thing wasn't even up to me to begin with!

Besides, I did what I was doing for _all_ Yeerks.

"Very well, I don't see why not," I said at last. "But what will you call yourselves?"

With a quick collective look amongst themselves, the leader announced, "The Council of Thirteen."

* * *

_TBC…_

A/N: GARGH, I am SO sorry about how long it took to finish and add this chapter. I wanted to update it some time before the end of the year (2006, that is) because I didn't like keeping you all waiting like that. College this semester has not been treating me as nicely as I would have liked. However, I don't know when I might update this next, because I'm about to undergo a MASSIVE rewrite of my first major _Harry Potter_ fanfic which I ever wrote, which I want to do and finally get done. Still, I'll try to update this if I can. You also may consider this a gift for the Holidays of Winter 2006, if you wish.

Note about the chess thing: I'm guessing the Andalites have their own version of chess. _(Shrugs.)_

The next part is where we see the first stirrings of trouble… –_Quillian_


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